The feds busted two Manhattan art dealers for first commissioning and then selling fake paintings by famous artists like Chagall and Renoir to clients in Asia – raking in more than $7 million in illicit profits.

Ely Sakhai, owner of the gallery Exclusive Art, at 818 Broadway, and his manager, Houshi Sandjaby, were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in an international art scam that lasted 15 years.

Their indictments were unsealed yesterday.

Sakhai faces another two counts of wire fraud and six counts of mail fraud.

During the mid-1990s, Sakhai bought the real paintings, mainly from the Impressionist, post-Impressionist and modern periods, and then he and Sandjaby hired artists to create exact copies – down to markings on the back of the canvas and frames, the indictments charge.

They allegedly had special coatings put on the paintings to make them look older, and issued forged “certificates of authenticity.”

To gain their clients’ trust, they also claimed Citibank was involved in the transactions, and showed customers phony documents making it look as if the bank was in on the deals, according to Manhattan federal prosecutors.

The pair allegedly sold the paintings – including fakes of Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s “Jeune Femme S’Essuyant,” Marie Laurencin’s “Jeune Fille a Mandolin,” and Chagall’s “L’Inspiration a L’Artiste” – to unsuspecting buyers in Japan and Taiwan.

Then they sold the originals at auctions, the indictment says.

Their scheme was uncovered when both the fake and the original versions of “Vase de Fleurs” by Gauguin turned up in competing auctions at Christie’s and Sotheby’s a few years ago, authorities said.

If convicted on the conspiracy count, Sakhai and Sandjaby could each draw up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Sakhai faces up to 20 years in the slammer on each of the mail and wire fraud counts and a $2 million fine.

Prosecutors also intend to force the pair to forfeit their $7 million profit in the alleged swindle.